Father of the Bride
by bingblot
Summary: A mid-ep filler to 7x6, "The Time Of Our Lives." Jim Beckett talks to both Rick and Kate just before the Wedding. Now updated with Jim's thoughts on the vows. Spoilers for Monday's episode ahead!
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: If I owned "Castle," it wouldn't be such a problem that I haven't been able to concentrate on anything but Caskett for the last two days. _

_Author's Note: Yet another fic based on 7x6, "The Time Of Our Lives," since it doesn't look like I'm getting over the Wedding any time soon. Also indulging my love of Jim Beckett's character. _

**Father of the Bride**

Rick looked like possibly the calmest bridegroom Jim had ever seen. He was greeting the Justice of the Peace as if the man was a guest invited over for a regular dinner.

But then Jim caught sight of Rick's suit pants leg jigging although Rick was standing still and realized that Rick was not quite as relaxed as he appeared. Jim couldn't quite tell if it was nervousness or excitement making Rick jittery.

"No second thoughts about marrying Katie, I hope, Rick," Jim joked as he approached.

"No," Rick answered just a little too quickly and with just a little too much emphasis, belying his outward calm. "No. I'm ready, Jim."

"That's good to hear."

Rick laughed a little sheepishly. "I'm not sure if I should admit this but in all honesty, Jim, I've probably been ready to marry Kate for at least three years now."

Jim chuckled a little. "So this is an impulsive decision for you," he quipped, even as he had to hide a sudden swell of emotion. This man, who Jim already knew looked at Katie as if she were the miracle that she'd always been to Jim since the first moment she'd been placed into his arms in the hospital as a squawling, red-faced bundle of a baby more than thirty years ago. Yes, this man was the right man for Katie, deserved Katie if any man in the world did.

And at that moment, too, Jim felt the last of his vague, mostly unexpressed doubts stemming from Rick's unexplained disappearance vanish forever. Rick Castle had loved Katie, waited for Katie, had stood at her side through so much danger, had supported her and protected her for so long now. And there was no way that this man would have voluntarily left Katie at the altar, let alone disappeared for two months without a word.

Rick gave a brief chuckle and then sobered, meeting Jim's eyes. "Is this the 'if you hurt my daughter, I'll kill you' conversation that always happens at weddings?"

Jim pretended surprise. "No, not at all."

Rick smiled and Jim went on matter-of-factly, carefully suppressing any urge to smile, "This is the 'if you hurt my daughter, I'll have Javier and Kevin shoot you' conversation."

Rick blinked and then burst out laughing, as did Jim. "Right, of course. I forgot that you would have your own team of cops to back you up."

"Naturally."

Rick's smile faded and he straightened up ever so slightly. "I do love Kate, very much," he assured Jim seriously. "I would do anything for her."

Jim put his hand on the younger man's shoulder. "I know that, Rick. I've known that for years. And I'm not worried about that at all."

"Thank you."

Jim hesitated and then said quietly, "I'll be proud to call you my son. And I know if Katie's mother were here, she would feel the same way."

Rick blinked rapidly, glancing away, and then cleared his throat. "Thank you, Jim," he said, his voice a little rough with emotion. "That means a lot to me."

"And I know you haven't had—that is, if you want to, from today, feel free to call me Dad."

Rick swallowed. "I—I might do that sometimes. Thank you."

Jim caught a flash of movement out of the corner of his eyes and saw that Martha had just come out of the house, along with Alexis. "It looks like Katie's ready," he observed and Rick swung around to look at his mother and his daughter. And the smile that broke over the other man's face said it all—so much love and happiness and hope and _certainty_ that it was almost painful to see. Yes, Rick was most definitely ready to be married to Katie.

Martha and Alexis drew near, both smiling, and Martha met Jim's eyes, giving him a small nod. "She's ready," she confirmed as she reached up to give Jim a kiss on the cheek along with one of her flowery gestures that would have seemed affected on anyone else but which Martha somehow managed to make look so natural.

Jim smiled, rested a hand briefly on Martha's shoulder, and then bent to kiss Alexis's cheek. They would be Katie's family—and now, his family too. And he was so glad to know that Katie was joining such a loving family.

"Then I guess we're all set," he said, addressing all three of them.

Alexis smiled, slipping an arm around her father. "Come on, Dad, we'd better get into our places."

Jim paused to watch as Rick pressed a kiss to Alexis's hair, murmuring a few words into the girl's ear as he did so, and smiled to himself. That was something else he liked about Rick, that he was so clearly a loving father. Katie couldn't have done better in choosing the father of his future grandchildren, Jim reflected.

Jim went into the house, going upstairs to the bedroom which had been temporarily appropriated for Katie's preparations. He knocked briefly on the door that was ajar. "Katie?"

Katie turned to smile at him, although he could see the evidence of some tears on her cheeks. "Come in, Dad."

Jim lost his breath at the sight of her. "Oh, Katie, you look beautiful," he breathed.

Katie smiled. "Thanks, Dad."

And she did look beautiful. The white pantsuit was much simpler and less formal than a wedding gown and Katie's hair and makeup this time had not had the benefit of as many hours and helping hands as it had for the wedding-that-had-never-happened. But she was still beautiful. And he could admire her freely without so many of the poignant memories that had assailed him the last time in seeing Katie wearing Johanna's dress. He'd been happy for Katie to wear it, knew Johanna would have appreciated it too, but it had been harder than he'd expected, to see Katie, looking so much like Johanna, in the same dress Johanna had worn and which Jim remembered Johanna wearing to walk down the aisle with as much clarity as if it had been just a matter of months and not from memories more than thirty years old.

_Oh, Johanna, if you could see our little Katie now… _His throat suddenly felt tight, missing Johanna's phantom presence, missing the way Johanna would have hugged Katie and fussed over her hair and make-up and straightened her lacy blouse unnecessarily just in order to have an excuse to stay close to Katie in these last few minutes before they would give Katie away to another man. Missed the way Johanna would have laughed gently at Jim's teary eyes and emotion-filled throat, even as she would have been wiping away her own tears.

A parade of images, of memories, flitted through his mind—his precious baby girl, Katie, sleeping in her cradle; Katie as a stubborn 5 year old insisting that she was a big girl and she didn't need a nightlight anymore; a teenage Katie curled up under a blanket with Johanna after some silly teenage boy had broken Katie's young heart; rebel teen Katie (still Katie to Jim and not Becks) dressed all in black; Katie and Madison with their heads bent together as they giggled over something that had happened in school that day. Katie looking gaunt and haunted at Johanna's funeral. Katie in her police officer's uniform as a rookie. Katie looking quietly devastated and severe as she told him that she couldn't lose another parent and unless Jim got sober, she would no longer see him—the last ultimatum that had worked and set Jim out on the long road to recovery. Katie laughing as she told some story about Rick from the early years of their partnership.

Jim blinked, mentally pulling himself back to the present, and cleared his throat. "You all set?"

She let out a breath and then nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready. I just… I wish Mom was here," she admitted softly.

Jim sighed. He'd promised himself he wouldn't cry but of course he felt tears welling up in his eyes. He swallowed back the emotion in his throat. "She would be so happy for you, Katie-bear," he managed to say, the old childhood nickname slipping from his mouth without conscious thought.

She smiled a little at the pet-name. "I know."

"And she'd be teasing you and Rick about when we can expect grandkids," he added, trying to smile.

Katie let out a rather shaky laugh. "That does sound like Mom."

"She would like Rick and approve of him, just like I do," he added, suddenly remembering a long-ago, almost-forgotten conversation he'd had with Johanna about one of Katie's high school boyfriends, when they'd briefly allowed themselves to speculate about what Katie's future husband would be like. Or more accurately, Johanna had speculated aloud and Jim had mostly been of the mindset that no man would ever be good enough for his little girl. Jo had only laughed at Jim and told him that their Katie was smart and would eventually meet the right one and would marry him. And as always, Jim thought, Johanna had been right. Katie had met the right one and was marrying him. "He's a good man and he loves you."

_Oh. Oh wow._ Jim lost his breath, again, at the way Katie's expression changed, the radiance shining out of her smile and in her eyes. He had seen his daughter in just about every mood, seen her at some of her happiest moments and at her saddest moments. But he'd never seen her look quite as uplifted and… oddly serene… as she did now.

"And I love him, Dad, so much," she confessed.

Jim had to laugh a little. "I know, Katie. It's written all over your face."

He stepped forward and hugged Katie fiercely, shutting his eyes against the sting of tears. And prayed with every ounce of his soul that his Katie and Rick would be granted many, many years of happiness. And thought of Johanna. _Watch out for them, Jo_, he thought.

And fanciful as it was, he could swear he heard Johanna's soft laugh, could picture her smile. Felt her happiness for Katie and somehow knew that, wherever she was, she approved.

He drew back and pressed a kiss to Katie's forehead. "Let's go get you married."

Smiles and tears warred for dominance in her expression. "I love you, Dad," she whispered, holding onto him for one second longer.

"I love you too, sweetheart," he said rather gruffly.

She swiped at her cheeks to clear off the few lingering tears and then gave him a smile as she linked her arm with his. "I'm ready," she said, picking up the simple bouquet of flowers that Alexis had prepared.

Yes, she was ready.

And together, he and Katie walked through the house and outside towards Rick and his family. Towards Katie's future.

And Jim was happy.

His little girl was marrying the right man, a man who loved her, and after all, what more could any father want for his daughter?

_~The End~_

_A/N 2: Thanks for reading. I'd love to know what everyone thinks. _

_And now to swoon and cry over Monday's episode for what's probably the millionth time… _


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: If obsession counts as ownership, then sure, I own "Castle." In my dreams, at least. _

_Author's Note: Jim wanted the chance to reflect on the vows and, well, I don't think I'll ever get tired of writing Jim's character. Plus I'll never get tired of these vows either. _

**Father of the Bride**

**Families**

He wasn't going to start crying yet, Jim told himself. He didn't think for a moment he'd be able to get through the actual ceremony, even as brief as it was likely to be, without crying a little but he didn't want to start now when actually walking Katie down the aisle, as it were.

He felt her hand squeeze his arm lightly—_I love you, Dad_—just before she dropped it and turned to him for a last hug. He let his eyes close as he hugged her, carefully keeping his embrace relatively loose, fighting back the sudden urge to clutch her tighter, to hold her as if he'd never let her go, in the sort of embrace reserved for the dearest person in the entire world. This last hug before he gave his daughter away—and as irrational as it was, since he _knew_ he wasn't truly losing Katie, was really only gaining a son he was already fond of in Rick—but he still felt a wave of sentimental reluctance to let go of Katie.

But let go of her he did.

Jim tried to catch Rick's eye, a last (mostly symbolic) demonstration of trust, but Rick had eyes only for Katie, was not looking at Jim at all. And after all, Jim thought, that was exactly the way it should be.

He'd been thinking only as a father, forgetting entirely what it was like to be the groom, at least if the groom was truly ready and taking this step with full awareness of its enormity. He felt a small, poignant smile curve his lips, suddenly remembering what it had been like for him when he'd first seen Johanna coming down the aisle towards him, flanked by her parents on either side. He hadn't seen anything but Johanna either; it seemed as if his vision had narrowed, everything else fading, so that all he could see clearly was Johanna's smiling face. Jim supposed that he must have still been breathing and blinking and standing upright on his own two feet but afterwards Jim couldn't have sworn to any of those things in a courtroom.

And looking at Rick as he smiled into Katie's eyes now, Jim knew that Rick felt the same way, that Katie was the only thing Rick saw, that Katie was the only person Rick cared about at the moment, notwithstanding the presence of his mother and even his daughter.

Katie stepped forward to hand her bouquet to Alexis and Jim felt his heart warm, again, at the look on the girl's face. He knew Katie had had some initial qualms about how much and whether Alexis was happy about Katie's relationship with Rick, suspected Katie had worried over Alexis and how Katie's relationship with Rick might affect Alexis more than Katie had ever indicated to Jim or even would have admitted to Rick. But looking at Alexis now, Jim knew that, whatever might have gone on between Katie and Alexis in the past—and Jim wasn't naïve enough to be unaware of the potential for a fraught relationship between a daughter, especially one who was as close to Rick as Alexis was, and her father's new wife—there was some basis for the fairytale portrayal of stepmothers—Alexis fully accepted Katie, welcomed Katie into her family with open arms. And for that too, Jim was grateful.

Jim peripherally heard the justice of the peace say, "whenever you're ready," and then focused on Katie's and Rick's joined hands as she slid the ring onto Rick's finger before she looked back up at Rick and meeting his eyes.

"_The moment that I met you, my life became extraordinary." _Katie's voice wavered ever so slightly from emotion but she spoke clearly, if quietly. Jim kept his eyes fixed on Katie's face, on her profile.

_Extraordinary._ Jim suddenly remembered seeing the dedication for the first Nikki Heat book, remembered picking it up in a bookstore and seeing the words—_to the extraordinary KB_—and the surge of emotion he'd felt. Knowing that his Katie was going to be the inspiration for a book had been one thing but it had been… amazing… to actually see the dedication in print, to think about the millions of people all over the country and the world who would see those same words, would read this book about this character based on his daughter and take some inspiration from the character. He would probably have bought and read _Heat Wave_ anyway but it had been that dedication that had made him not just curious but downright _eager_ to read it, to see how this man whom Jim had never met, this author whose words Katie had loved for so long, viewed Katie. And aside from the awkwardness inherent in some scenes—scenes Jim had skipped while reading—Jim had been impressed.

And he'd thought, not for the first time since Katie had first mentioned that Castle was going to be basing a book on her, that Johanna would have loved it. Not only because Johanna had enjoyed Richard Castle's previous books but Johanna would have loved the character of Nikki Heat, entirely aside from being able to recognize some of Katie in her. Jim had known his wife well enough to recognize immediately that, all personal connection aside, Nikki Heat was exactly the sort of literary character Johanna would have loved. Jo had always loved strong, smart, no-nonsense female characters, even better if they were successful in a male-dominated field—or, as Jim had sometimes teased Johanna when she'd been praising some such female character in those terms, Johanna had loved characters that were like herself. Jim remembered teasing Johanna by saying that he had a terribly vain wife to only like characters that were just like she was and how Jo had pretended to glare at him and mock-threatened to throw her current book at him, but teasing aside, Jim had understood. He knew some of what Jo had faced, as a young, to say nothing of pretty, female lawyer starting out more than 30 years ago, when it had been much harder for working women, and so he could hardly blame Johanna for liking characters that had faced and overcome some of the same things she had herself. Yes, Johanna would definitely have loved Nikki Heat.

"_You taught me to be my best self, to look forward to tomorrow's adventures." _

Yes, that was what Rick had done for Katie, what Jim had liked about Rick long before he'd ever met the man. Almost from the first, Jim had seen that, no matter how Katie grumbled about it and complained that the author was irritating and the proverbial thorn in her side, Rick had made Katie's work and her life more fun. It was something Jim had worried about in the years before Katie had met Rick, had wondered if Katie had lost her capacity for fun, for truly enjoying life, because of what had happened to Johanna. It was such a stark contrast to the happy, laughing child Katie had been, always confident, always eager to try something new—looking forward to the next day's adventures, as Katie had just put it. Johanna's death had changed that in her and Jim had ached to see it.

And then Katie had met Rick and, although the change was gradual, it had become clear fairly quickly that Katie laughed more when Rick was around. It was apparent in the stories she told from her work, obvious in the way her eyes had lit up with the glints of green and gold when she talked about Castle. Jim knew his daughter, could read her emotions and expressions in her eyes and in her face better than anyone else in the world, and it had become more than clear that, no matter how Katie might occasionally gripe about Rick, she enjoyed having him around.

And even if it hadn't been obvious before, Jim had definitely noticed the difference when Rick had gone, that summer when he'd been in the Hamptons, focusing on his writing, as Katie had mentioned. Katie herself probably had little idea how much she'd revealed to Jim in their conversations that summer, especially as Katie had stopped talking about Rick almost entirely, but the difference had been present and obvious, that whatever else, without Rick around, Katie's life was less fun. Jim hadn't been sure, back then, if that meant his daughter and the writer were meant to be more than just friends, or if they were only good friends but either way, Jim had more than once wished that Rick would return, hoped he would come back to work with Katie again. So Jim had been glad when Rick had come back, when Katie had mentioned that she'd let Rick return as her partner at work.

"_When I was vulnerable, you were strong." _

Oh. Oh, drat. Jim felt tears well up in his eyes and couldn't quite blink them back, felt one spill over onto his cheek. Not that he supposed it really mattered; no one was looking at him anyway. He was amazed and moved and so, so grateful at how much Katie had grown and changed in these past few years. Not because Rick had changed her; Jim knew people in general and his daughter in particular too well to think that. Katie had put in the work herself, had changed herself, as it were, but Rick had given her a _reason_ to do so, had made her want to change, become better, become stronger.

Jim suddenly remembered the first time he'd met Rick, the time he'd sought Rick out at his home, because he'd been so concerned for Katie, going up against trained killers. Remembered what Rick had said about Katie: "she doesn't flinch." It might have been the simplest, most powerful way of describing Katie that Jim had ever heard. Katie didn't flinch. She never had. Had never ever wanted to show any fear.

Jim had a sudden memory from long ago, when Katie had been around 6 years old, and one of those severe thunderstorms that occasionally occurred had begun, when the lightning had been bright enough to turn night into day, when the thunder had seemed to literally shake even the high-rises of Manhattan with its rolling boom of sound. Johanna had gone up to check on Katie and found her curled up under the covers without so much as a hair of her head being visible. Johanna had offered and then asked and then tried to cajole Katie into sleeping in Jim and Johanna's bedroom that night, to help her since she was so obviously fearful, but even then, Katie had refused. Had gotten that stubborn look on her face, her lips and chin setting as she shook her head. No, she was a big girl and she didn't need to sleep in Mommy and Daddy's room like a baby. Jo had ended up staying in Katie's room herself that night, joining Katie in her bed so Katie could fall asleep and Jo had fallen asleep herself.

Jim knew better than anyone just how strong Katie was, how strong she had needed to be to survive and get through all that she had. But he also knew the toll it took on her to constantly project her façade of invulnerability to the world. Even with him, he knew that Katie didn't entirely let down that shield, partly because she didn't want to worry him but also because of his own history, how Jim had let her down in the past, had drowned himself in the bottle at a time when Katie needed him the most. He would never entirely forgive himself for that, could only be thankful that his Katie had forgiven him for it, but as open and as strong as his relationship with Katie now was—and it was the most precious blessing of his life—because of his past, Jim didn't want to push Katie too far, urge her to let down her guard.

But now, with Rick, Jim knew that Katie had found someone whom she trusted, felt safe with, someone whom Katie didn't feel the need to be constantly strong around. Someone she relied on to be strong for her, to hold her up, when she could no longer hold herself up.

It was all Jim had ever wanted for his daughter and he was so glad and so thankful, from the depths of his soul, that his Katie had found a person she trusted so much, that Katie had learned to share her burdens and that letting another person see one's weaknesses didn't make one weak but, if the person was the right one, deserved that trust, made one stronger.

"_I love you, Richard Castle, and I want to live my life in the warmth of your smile and the strength of your embrace."_

Jim felt another tear escape and slide down to join the first. He lifted up a hand to wipe them away. Yes, this was all he'd ever, ever wanted for Katie, ever hoped and prayed for her to find.

"_I promise you I will love you. I will be your friend and your partner in crime and in life. Always." _

For the first time since Katie had begun speaking, Jim tore his eyes away from what he could see of Katie's profile, looked at Rick's face, his expression, as Katie made this promise, a promise that he knew she would keep with all the dedication and the loyalty and the perseverance of Katie's heart.

And Jim was momentarily abashed at the naked emotion on Rick's face. Rick was smiling, looked not just happy but positively uplifted, but with all that, there was so much emotion, so much love, written clearly on Rick's face that Jim suddenly felt as if he were intruding on something he had no right to see and abruptly lowered his gaze to focus, instead, on Katie's and Rick's joined hands. That look on Rick's face, as if his heart, even his very soul, were laid out bare for all to see—it was for Katie. Not even he, as Katie's father, should see that look—for that matter, Jim wasn't sure anyone else, not even Martha, Rick's mother, had the right to see that look. It was for Katie, only Katie. Katie was the only person in the world who should see that look, who had the right to see it.

Rick slid the simple band up Katie's finger to join the diamond sparkling there. Rick's ring on Katie's hand.

"_The moment we met, my life became extraordinary. You taught me more about myself than I knew there was to learn."_

Jim felt himself smiling, even in spite of the tears that lingered in his eyes. He knew that Katie would say the same thing about Rick. And that was partly what made Jim so confident that Katie's and Rick's happiness would last. They were equals in this, equals in what each had done for the other, equals in how much each needed the other.

For all Katie's concerns when she and Rick had first begun their romantic relationship, for all that Katie and Rick were different people with different personalities, they somehow fit together, balanced each other out. And both of them, together, were better than either of them had been alone.

Jim acknowledged that he was most likely biased but, in spite of her faults, he'd always thought that Katie was extraordinary. He didn't know Rick nearly as well as he knew his daughter but from all he'd heard and all he'd seen, he did believe that, no matter Rick's somewhat checkered past (the past that Theresa could still not quite get over), Rick had always been a good man, a son of whom anyone would be proud. But Katie and Rick had each made the other a better version of themselves.

"_You are the joy in my heart."_

Jim's heart squeezed with sudden, poignant emotion. He already knew how much happiness Rick had brought into Katie's life. It was only fitting and somehow reassuring to know that Katie had brought joy into Rick's life.

"_You're the last person I want to see every night when I close my eyes." _

Jim blinked back tears, feeling a sudden stab of missing Johanna, so sharply that it felt like a physical pain. Jim didn't claim to have Rick's way with words but he had told Johanna the same thing so many years ago. He had stumbled and rather stuttered his way through his proposal to Jo in his nervousness and sudden terror that Jo would realize she could do so much better than him, a man who was always much better expressing himself on paper than he would ever be at talking, a man who would rather spend an afternoon or evening immersed in a baseball game than going out to a party or anything more exciting. In his own nervousness, he'd blurted out most of his insecurities to Johanna—plus, Jo's direct, dark eyes had always had a way of pulling the truth out of him so he'd occasionally teasingly called her his own personal polygraph machine—and Jo had asked him, with her customary directness and with a small smile playing about her lips, "You've told me why I shouldn't want to marry you, do you want to tell me why you _do_ want to marry me?" And Jim had, again, told her the truth—that he loved her, that he thought about her all the time, that he liked talking to her and being with her more than anyone else in the world, that she was the last person he wanted to see every night when he closed his eyes and the first person he wanted to see every morning when he woke up. And Johanna had smiled her beautiful smile and cut off his babbling with a kiss, only drawing back to whisper, "In case you were wondering, that means my answer is yes. Yes, I love you and yes, I will marry you."

_Oh, Johanna, you should be here for this. _

"_I love you, Katherine Beckett, and the mystery of you is the one I want to spend the rest of my life exploring."_

Jim looked at Katie, saw the way her smile widened at this. Suddenly remembered what Katie had said, soon after she'd met Rick, about how he always thought in terms of stories, always needed to know the full story, not just the end of it but the how and why. He remembered, too, something Katie had once said not long after she and Rick had gotten together, about being afraid that Rick knew her too well, that he might begin to lose interest in her for that very reason. Because his history and his personality seemed to show that it was what happened, that once he figured out the story, he lost interest. Jim had only been able to tell Katie that no one could ever know another person completely and, beyond that, he didn't think anyone would ever describe her as being boring. He'd added, only half-humorously, that he certainly never got tired of her and Katie had laughed, her fears momentarily forgotten, quipping that he was her father so of course he always found her interesting.

Jim didn't think that Katie still had any fears on that account but even so, Jim knew that he, at least, did not. By now, Jim had seen Rick often enough—or seen Rick with Katie often enough, he should say—that he felt confident that becoming boring was not something Katie should ever have to fear. It was in the way Rick still looked at Katie sometimes, in the way that even now, Rick sometimes looked at Katie as if he'd never seen her before, as if she was a miracle. Rick might term it as the mystery that was Katie and Jim termed it the miracle that was Katie but the sense of wonder evoked by the term was the same.

"_I promise to love you, to be your friend and your partner in crime and life, 'til death do us part, and for the time of our lives."_

_Til death do us part. _After Johanna's death, Jim didn't like that phrase and he fought back the sudden surge of fear that Katie's and Rick's happiness might be snatched from them too early, as had happened with him and Johanna. Katie had a dangerous job and she and Rick had already been through so much, survived so much, and Jim was terrified, again, that the next time, the next danger, would be the one that one or both of them didn't survive.

But he blinked and looked at Katie and at Rick and had to smile. They both knew the risks but whatever else, whatever happened in the future, they would face it together, protect each other, take care of each other. Just as they had for years—partners in crime and in life, just as they'd both promised. And somehow, looking at them, seeing the utter certainty in their eyes as they smiled at each other, Jim felt his fear fade away a little. Katie and Rick would have each other's backs, always, and maybe, just maybe, that would be enough.

And now it was the justice of the peace's turn, as he intoned solemnly but with a smile in his voice, "By the power vested in me by the state of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife."

Jim heard the words lingering in his mind, as if in an echo from when he'd heard them more than thirty years ago, for himself and Johanna. Johanna—his wife. Still and always his wife. And even though it was fanciful of him, for a moment, he could almost swear he could feel the remembered touch of her fingers, feel the way her hand would slip into his.

Katie gave a small giggle, one Jim wasn't sure he could ever remember hearing from his daughter before, as if her happiness had spontaneously overflowed into a laugh, and then she slid her arms around Rick's neck and kissed him.

Jim felt his usual impulse to avert his eyes—he always had before in the rare occasions when he'd seen Katie with a boyfriend before—there were parts of his daughter's life he most definitely did not need to know anything about—but this kiss was different. It was… romantic was the only word Jim could come up with—and for once, he didn't look away, could only watch, almost mesmerized and unbearably moved at how obviously in love his Katie and Rick were. In love and so very happy together. And for the moment completely oblivious that anyone else was even present.

_Oh, Johanna, can you see how happy our Katie is right now? _

The ache of missing Johanna was always worst on holidays, birthdays, these special days, and this day, Katie's wedding day, might be the worst, Jim thought. Jo would have been so happy, even though she would have been fighting tears. He knew, believed—had to believe—that somewhere, wherever she was, Jo knew what was happening, was watching over Katie, and saw how happy their little girl was. But he still missed her.

Missed the way she would have held his hand during the ceremony, missed the way she would have gently laughed at him for being such a sentimental wreck even as she was wiping away her own tears, missed the way she would have hugged Rick and kissed his cheek and told him in one breath that she was so happy for him but that if he hurt their daughter, he'd have to answer to her. Missed the way Johanna would have leaned in close and whispered reminders of their own wedding day into his ear until he would have had to smile and laugh a little.

Jim rather belatedly realized that Alexis had come up to stand next to him and he blinked and turned to smile at her.

"I've never seen my dad look so happy," she said quietly, a soft, loving smile on her face as she watched her father. Rick whispered something into Katie's ear and Katie blushed and laughed and then kissed him again.

"I've never seen my daughter look so happy," Jim replied, his heart suddenly hurting. Because Johanna should have seen this, deserved to see their Katie look so happy. It was all Johanna would ever have wanted for their little girl.

Jim sensed Alexis's glance, felt that she could see his emotion and was wondering what she could say to tactfully comfort him. And was momentarily amazed all over again that this perceptive, mature girl was only 20 years old. He knew Rick always said that he'd lucked out with Alexis but he also knew enough about parenting to know that Alexis was a credit to Rick in every sense, a testament to the amazing father Katie always said Rick was.

"I've never really had a grandfather before," she finally said quietly.

_A grandfather_. The word surprised Jim, made him still. _Oh…_ Somehow, ridiculously, he'd only been thinking in terms of _future_ grandchildren, of Rick's and Katie's children only. Alexis was so mature all the time—often acted older than Rick did, as Katie laughingly said—that Jim somehow… forgot… or something that Alexis was, still, Rick's little girl. He turned to smile at Alexis, a rather shaky smile. "Would you like one?" he asked, just a little carefully. She was 20, a grown-up, she didn't need babying. And he knew she had Martha too, knew how close Martha and Alexis were from Katie's stories and from what he'd seen of them. But a grandfather was a different thing too.

Alexis gave him a smile. "I think I would."

Johanna would have loved Alexis too, Jim suddenly found himself thinking. Oddly, he'd never stopped to think that before, but she would definitely have loved Alexis.

"I already told Rick that he should think about calling me Dad," Jim finally told the girl. "Would you—" he hesitated and then added, a little tentatively, "you can call me Grandpa Jim, if you like."

Alexis smiled at him, a warm, loving smile that had Jim's heart suddenly squeezing a little. He had the odd sense that he was glimpsing some of the openly affectionate little girl she must have been, before becoming a teenager and college student had added that new veneer of maturity. "I'd like that," she said and then added, after the briefest pause, "Grandpa Jim."

Jim gave Alexis a broad smile and then put his arm around the girl's shoulders, feeling a wave of affection for the girl. For Rick's daughter and, now, Katie's daughter by marriage too.

Then Jim and Alexis both turned to look at Katie and Rick, who were still entirely wrapped up in each other.

And Jim smiled.

Johanna's death had ripped their happy family apart but now, Katie's marriage to Rick had formed another family, a different family, but still one based on love. Maybe, after all, much like love, real families didn't die, only evolved, transformed, and lived on.

_~The End~_

_(Really.) _

_A/N 2: A shout-out to the wonderful fic, "Hi Dad" by jareya that's inspired a lot of Jim's voice in this fic. _

_Thanks, everyone, for reading and reviewing. I am really blown away by the response to my little Wedding series. _


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